17 Months and Still Going Strong

Well. . . here we are again!  It seems like I just wrote your 16 month update last week!  This last month has flown by and we have stayed extremely busy.  Daddy and I are always "on the go" and you keep up with us without missing a beat!

What can I say Tay, you are precious my little love bug!  You still seem to have a motor in you that doesn't stop, except luckily for us, you need to "recharge" your batteries once a day with a nice long nap.  You love to play, play, play!  If it were up to you, you'd probably eat your meals "on the run" too!  The world is your playground and you are one curious little kid.  I love that I get to see the world through your eyes.  You make me appreciate the little things around me more. 

You are definitely our own little "Bam Bam."  You love to swing baseball bats, golf clubs, and any other kind of "stick" you can get your hands on.  You have quite the throwing arm too!  You have watched your Daddy throw tennis balls against the bottom of the fireplace one too many times, because you feel the need to throw any kind of ball, including golf balls, at the tv, walls, and kitchen cabinets.  I'm going to let your Daddy handle this one for now. . .

While other kids are attached to blankets and pacifiers, you my darling are an original!  When all else fails, all I need to do is give you a kitchen spoon!  You carry them around like they are prized possessions and it makes me laugh every time you spot one in the dishwasher or under the cabinet, because you won't stop saying spoon until you have one (or two) in your possession!  They seem to be everywhere. . .in the diaper bag, the backseat of my car, and even my purse!  I was out the other day and reached into my purse to get a pen, and pulled out a kitchen spoon instead!  I know the people around me probably thought that was a little odd, but it made me think of you, and all I could do was shake my head and smile.

Aside from your obsession with spoons, you love brooms and balloons!  You would find any way you could to get my broom out of the garage.  That is, until Mimi and G-Daddy bought you your very own broom.  It's hilarious to watch you "sweep," and by sweep I mean scatter all of the trash that I just finished cleaning up!  Now if only there was a way to teach you how to use the dust pan.  Hmmmm... I will have to work on that one!  And where do I even start when it comes to balloons?  We can't even go into the grocery store without you pointing at everyone and asking "please, please, please" (which still comes out "puh, puh, puh). 

You are the most polite 16 month old I know.  Whenever anyone gives you anything, you say "thank you" (usually without prompting) and when we say the prayer at mealtimes and before we go to bed, you enthusiastically say "Amen!" on your own.  You still love Sesame Street and can say "Elmo" and "Big Bird" pretty well.  A glass of chocolate milk and either Curious George or Between the Lions usually gets our day started and on the right track.  Books continue to catch your interest and I love seeing you start to really examine the pictures.  You have a couple look and find books and are so proud of yourself when we tell you to "Find the hat" (or ball, or car, etc. . .) and you can point straight to it!  You love the page with Lightning McQueen and the other characters from Cars and you take great pride in pointing at every car and truck on the page.

I am amazed by how much you can understand and do.  The other day I told you we couldn't go outside because you didn't have on shoes, so you started looking for them.  When I say "Where are your socks?" you search for them, bring them to me, and lift up your feet for me to help you put them on.  Yesterday, we went outside and the wind started to blow.  You looked up at the trees and the leaves started to fall down.  You started running, trying to catch the falling leaves, and were saying "Uh, oh. . .Uh, oh. . . Uh, oh!" over and over.  You knew the leaves were supposed to be on the trees and were worried about them!  I must say, that was super cute! 

You have a definite sense of humor.  Right now, you find it wildly funny to go into the bathroom and close the bathroom door whenever anyone walks in there.  You love to run and "jump" around the living room, spinning and twirling around and around.  You have perfected your jump by getting a running start while poking out your Buddha belly, swinging your arms in the air, and then getting on your tippy toes.  And you find it down right hilarious when you run around the whole downstairs part of our house (through the living room, dining room, kitchen and back to the living room) just to do a belly flop on a comforter piled up in the middle of the room.

Over the course of this last month, a couple of very special things have happened.  On October 28th, Daddy officially graduated from the Fire Academy.  He's already our hero and the best firefighter we know, but we were so proud of him when he won the Top Rung award for his class!  We got to go up to the front and pin him.  Chief Myers took you from my arms and Daddy and I both held our breath, waiting for you to start screaming, but you didn't. . . at least, for a couple of seconds.  You held it together long enough for me to take the badge in my hand before you started screaming "Mama!  Mama!  Mama!"  with arms wide.  The audience and Chief Myers found it hilarious.  Don't worry, someone got it all on film, so one day, maybe you will get to see it.

That night, you and Daddy surprised me with a 30th birthday party dinner.  You boys are definitely tricky!  We ate at Dominick's and I couldn't have thought of a better way to celebrate.

On October 31st, Mama officially turned 30!  Daddy fought a fire the night before, so you and I picked up some lunch and it was nice enough for us to eat outside.  Daddy gave me a book he made on Shutterfly that had birthday messages from my family and closest friends.  After we went to church that night, we went Trick-or-Treating with the Chapeaus.  You had a blast!  You were a Georgia Bulldog, of course and in my opinion, the cutest kid ont he block!  We couldn't believe that you actually kept your hood on.  Daddy and I thought you were so funny.  You would go up and knock on the door.  Sometimes you would randomly say "Go Dawgs!" other times you would say "Trick-or-Treat" and proceed to try and go into complete stranger's homes.

 Now, you are kicking off your 17th month recovering from the flu, bronchitis, and pertussis (the whooping cough).  You poor thing!  If it were up to me, you would never get sick and I could take your place.  Daddy took you to the doctor last Friday and then we got the call that your cultures came back positive for the whooping cough yesterday.  Those things haven't seemed to slow you down much.  You are a pretty resilient kid!  Although, I would say that the steroids, two anibiotics, and breathing treatment may have helped out a little bit.

Happy 17th Month my little Turkey!  Here's hoping that this next month is filled with health, love, and lots of laughter!